Out of the Frying Pan
by denise1
Summary: A little bit of AU to Forsaken - one little twist takes Sam out of the frying pan and squarely into the fire


Out of the Frying Pan

By

Denise

"We've got hostages," Tanis gloated, smiling and lifting her eyebrows suggestively.

Aiden rolled his eyes, frustrated at her lack of ability to see the big picture. And her greed. That had always been an issue with Tanis, she got greedy. "To hell with the hostages. Who knows what Sam told them? It's time to cut our losses," he said, rolling the man over. He was barely conscious, fighting the effects of the weapon. At least Sam had told the truth about that. The first shot did seem to just stun.

"Aiden, you should see what they have," she protested. "More gold than I've seen in one place in my life."

"If they know where it is, so does she," he said, bending over to pick Sam up, tossing her over his shoulder. Leaving Tanis to follow, Aiden made his way back into the ship. He took a moment to lay Sam down on the floor, handing Tanis the weapon. "She's going to be mad when she wakes up. One shot stuns, two kills. Don't kill her," he ordered, holding her gaze until she nodded.

He made his way to the control deck, smiling to himself as he felt the welcome thrum of the engines below his feet. It had been too long since he'd felt that. Finally, after all this time, they were going to be free. "Lyle? Are we ready to take off?" he asked, slipping into the captain's chair.

"I think so. I'd still like to run some more tests. She hasn't flown in a long time."

Aiden shook his head. "We don't have time. Tanis and Jonas just came back. I figure O'Neill and the alien will be right behind them. We gotta go, now."

"And if your 'friend' didn't fix the computer and we fall out of the sky?" Pendar asked.

"Then she'll die with us," Aiden said.

"What?" Lyle turned, frowning at him.

"There's plenty to fix on this ship."

"She tied you up. You really think she'll cooperate?"

"When her skin's at risk too, yes," Aiden said. "Can we debate this AFTER we get into orbit?"

"I hope you know what you're doing," Lyle muttered, turning back to his console.

Aiden didn't respond, gripping the armrests of the chair hard enough to leave marks. "So do I," he thought. "So do I."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack made his way back towards the crash site, Warrick and Teal'c walking at his side. He shoulda known the whole thing was just too good to be true. Was there so such thing as friendly aliens anymore?

Of all the things they had to run into, escaped prisoners. How freaking cliché was that.

A low roar broke the silence of the planet and he looked to Teal'c, seeking confirmation. "Carter?" he called into the radio, frowning when he got no response.

"Perhaps it is a test?"

"No," Jack answered, breaking into a run. As they reached the clearing the ship was in, a heavy force struck him. The Cerebrus slowly rose from the streambed, mud and muck falling unheeded to the ground. They stood, squinting their eyes against the rush of air. "Carter?" he called again.

"There," Teal'c said, hurrying forward.

"Crap," Jack cursed, his eyes lighting on an unconscious figure lying in the sand.

Teal'c knelt down, looking up to nod, indicating that Jonas was alive. Jack joined them as Teal'c helped the Kelownan sit up. "Where's Carter?"

Jonas frowned, obviously trying to remember. "She was…tied up," he pointed towards a scuffed up area of sand. "The ship…Colonel, they must have taken her."

Jack craned his neck, watching the alien ship grow smaller and smaller in the sky, knowing that one of his teammates was on that ship, and that he had no way to reach her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam slowly opened her eyes and groaned softly as she focused on the all too familiar bulkheads of the Cerebus. She pushed herself up, frowning and blinking as she tried to clear her vision. Her hand went to the back of her head and she hissed through her teeth as she encountered blood-matted hair and a large lump.

Her stomach roiling with the all too familiar concussion induced nausea; she forewent trying to stand up and settled for studying the room.

She was in one of the storerooms, a few transport containers the only furnishings. She reached for her radio, not at all surprised to discover it missing. "Great," she muttered.

The door locked from the outside, that much she remembered from Aiden's tour. Unless she could get the bulkhead off and hotwire it.

And to make things worse, unless she was feeling things, they were underway. Which meant that she really didn't have anywhere to go. Of course…there were only two of them. She could take two of them. If the room would just stop spinning long enough for her to do it.

The ship turned roughly and her stomach lurched. Fighting the nausea, she drew up her knees and closed her eyes, taking refuge from the pain in her head in sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aiden leaned back in the captain's chair and let out a contented sigh. Finally, finally they'd gotten off that cursed planet. He drummed his fingers on the armrest and tried to concentrate. They needed to steer clear of Hebridian controlled planets, that much was obvious. But they also needed to find a friendly planet and set in some supplies. He and the others had pretty much consumed all the rations during their maroonment.

"Where are we going?" Pendar asked him.

"Anywhere the Hebridian Defense Force isn't."

"Well, it better be close," Tanis spoke up. "The hyperdrive is down. We're capable of sub-light travel only."

"What?" Pendar demanded. "We're sitting ducks without hyperdrive."

Aiden frowned. He was right. The planet they'd just left was the only habitable one in the system. Which meant they'd probably starve before they could get to another habitable planet. Assuming of course they survived any run-ins with other interstellar voyagers. The chances of finding someone else as gullible as Sam and her friends just wasn't too likely. At least, not likely enough for him to bet his life on. "We'll just get Sam to fix them," he said, hopping out of the chair, ignoring the skeptical looks of his compatriots.

He quickly made his way from the bridge to the storeroom two decks down where they'd locked her in. Figuring she'd be more than a little angry, he steeled himself, and then opened the door, frowning when there was no angry woman waiting for him. "Sam?" He scanned the room, finding Sam sitting in the corner, her head resting on her knees. "Sam?" he said again, walking towards her. He knew she'd been unconscious when they'd brought her on board the ship, but he hadn't thought she'd really been hurt. He shook her shoulder.

She slowly raised her head, looking at him with bleary eyes. "What?"

"We need you to fix the ship."

"What?" she repeated.

"The hyper drive doesn't work. We need you to fix it," he explained.

"No," she said, shaking her head slightly.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. He stalked from the room, dragging her behind him. They quickly reached the engine room and he pushed her forward, causing her to stumble, grabbing one of the consoles to keep from crashing to the deck. "You will fix the hyperdrive or you will be the first to starve," he said, stepping backwards. He closed the door, punching in the lock code.

He made his way back up to the bridge wondering how someone so good looking could be such a pain in the rear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what exactly are we talking about here?" Jack asked, his frustration making it impossible for him to stay seated and instead paced the briefing room.

"What do you mean, Colonel?" Warwick asked.

"Your prisoners, what are they in for?"

The alien nodded, finally understanding the question. "Aiden Corso and Tanis Renard are deceptionists."

"What?"

"We're not familiar with that term," Jonas translated.

"They tell falsehoods for their own gain," Warwick explained.

"Con men….women…woman," Jack said.

"That would be consistent with their behavior on the planet," Teal'c said.

"What about Pendar?"

"Lyle Pendar is a different kind of offender," Warwick said. "He was convicted of killing two associates on Hebridia. He was scheduled for execution soon after his arrival at the prison colony."

"Great!" Jack exclaimed. "So Carter's on that ship with two scam artists and a murderer."

"Colonel," Hammond warned.

Jack acknowledged his censure and sat down. They'd just returned from the planet a few minutes ago and he knew his frustration with the whole thing was still too close to the surface for comfort. The rational part of his mind knew that regrets were futile, it still didn't stop him from kicking himself for ignoring his gut and trusting the convicts. "General, how soon can we get Prometheus ready to go?"

Hammond shook his head. "The Prometheus is in the middle of an overhaul installing the Asgard shields and weapons. The last I heard from Area 51, it wouldn't be space worthy for a few more weeks."

"Even now the odds of locating Major Carter are very slim," Teal'c said. "In a few weeks it shall be impossible."

"What's the good of having a ship if we can't use it?" Jack asked.

"Sir," Jonas asked Hammond. "Maybe the Tok'ra can help?"

Hammond shook his head. "I've sent word to the Tok'ra. I haven't gotten a response yet."

"Warwick, did you not say that the Ziraken liberated Hebridia from the goa'uld?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes," the alien answered. "Thousands of years ago."

"Do you have a Stargate?" Jonas asked, motioning towards the gate visible on the other side of the window.

Warwick shook his head. "I am not familiar with it. If we had one, I would have returned home or sought assistance in apprehending the prisoners."

"But you probably had one," Jonas said. He turned to face Hammond. "General, the vast majority of goa'uld planets have a stargate. Now it's possible that the Hebridians buried theirs when they overthrew the goa'uld, or they may not know what it is."

"A buried gate's a dead end, Jonas," Jack said.

"Sometimes. Sometimes not. Colonel, if we can find out if Hebridia is on the Abydos Cartouche, then we can find out its location. It's possible that the gate's there and passable, but no one knows what it is."

"That would not be without precedent," Teal'c said. "Many times we have observed humans having no knowledge of the stargate and its capabilities."

"Very well. Jonas, why don't you and Teal'c work with Warwick, see if you can find some information on his planet."

"Sir," Jack spoke up. "Permission to go to G'Tau. Thor likes Carter, maybe he'll loan us a ship?"

"Granted, Colonel," Hammond said. He got to his feet, signaling the end of the briefing. "Warwick, I hope you will understand, but you are confined to this facility. We're going to do everything we can to get you home."

"Thank you, general," the alien replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam cast a cautious glance towards the door and reached into the inner pocket of her jacket. She quickly broke off a piece of a ration bar and shoved it into her mouth, hoping that they'd leave her alone for a few more minutes, long enough to get the crunchy bar chewed and swallowed.

One thing her captors definitely were not guilty of was forethought. The ship's water reclamation systems worked, so they were doing ok in that aspect, but they were severely lacking in foodstuffs. What few rations they had, they were keeping for themselves, allowing her only a few bits each day. If they thought starving her was going to make her fix the engines faster, they were sorely mistaken. She couldn't fix them.

Totally ignoring the fact that it was definitely in her best interests that they not get too far away from the planet, the technology was so far beyond her that she knew it'd take her years to figure it all out. Their hyperdrive was nothing like the Prometheus' or the drive systems the goa'uld used.

Shooting another quick glance at the door, she moved to another console, trying to pry off the cover as quietly as possible. It'd been three days since they'd left the planet and she knew that if rescue was coming, it was only going to come with the aid of one of their allies. Prometheus wasn't space worthy at the moment, assuming General Hammond would authorize the SGC taking their only starship out for a spin just to rescue one kidnapped officer.

She figured her one chance to get out of this mess, was to force the Cerebrus back down to the planet and get to the gate. That was where she had at least one advantage over her captors, she knew about a dozen places to go until she could make contact with the SGC. Even if they knew how to dial the gate, they lacked that knowledge. Theoretically a person could stand in front of the DHD and push combinations for hours without connecting. They'd be as imprisoned as they originally were, which suited her just fine.

Opening the compartment, she studied the wiring inside. Space ships had one huge Achilles heel, without life support, they were simply big fancy coffins. And if the life support failed, they'd have no choice but to go back down to the planet.

Reaching in she grabbed one of the components and yanked it out. Knowing that what she'd done was no doubt setting off alarms on the bridge, she quickly dropped the component on the floor, pausing for just a second before raising her foot and crushing it.

She heard footsteps pounding down the corridor and she quickly kicked at the component, scattering the pieces behind a console. She hurried back over to the hyperdrive and knelt down, hoping that it looked like she was working.

"What have you done?" Pendar yelled, stalking over and pulling her to her feet.

Renard hurried past him, kneeling down by the environmental controls. She pulled the cover off, quickly seeing the evidence of Sam's tampering. "The main relay is gone."

"Where is it?" Pendar asked, pushing Sam against the wall.

She struck out, pushing him back. "I don't know what you're talking about," she lied.

"Lyle." Renard held up a few pieces of the component. "She destroyed it."

"Fix it."

"I can't," Renard said. "We don't have replacements for this."

"What did you think you were doing? Without life support, you'll die with us," Pendar asked Sam.

"She wants us to go back down to the planet," Renard said, getting to her feet. "So she can go back to her friends and send us back to prison," she said.

"I can't fix the hyperdrive," Sam said. "The planet is the only place we can go."

"That's what you want us to believe," Pendar snarled. He stepped in front of her, pulling a knife from a sheath at his belt. "I say you're purposefully not fixing it. Maybe you're just not motivated enough."

"Enough!" Aiden said, joining them for the first time. "It doesn't matter what she did, we just got another option." He turned and left the engine room, Renard following him. Pendar made one last threatening motion with his knife before he too followed his companions.

Sam sagged against the wall, the sudden lack of adrenaline making her knees feel distinctly weak. Incredibly curious, she left the engine room and made her way to the bridge. The three convicts barely spared her a glance, their attention instead riveted on the view screen. "Oh crap," she muttered as she realized what had them so entranced.

"Do you know who they are?" Aiden asked her.

"Yeah," she responded. "That's a hatak class ship. You're about to meet the goa'uld," she said, wondering just what she'd done to piss Murphy off so severely.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aiden winced at the dull clang as the Cerebrus was pulled into the landing bay of the ship. "Who are these goould?" he asked Sam, frowning as he watched her pull the patches off her jacket, shoving them into her pocket.

"Goa'uld," she corrected. "Parasites that possess the bodies of their hosts. They gather strength and power by pretending to be gods and enslaving whole planets. Their muscle are Jaffa, like Teal'c. If we're lucky, they'll think we're nothing special and let us go." She pulled her hat out of her pocket, slipping it on her head and pushing some of her hair up under it.

"And if we're not lucky?"

She met his eyes, her face serious. "They'll torture us for any information we might have, and we'll either be slaves, be killed, or worst case scenario, become hosts," she said.

The hatch opened and he watched her try to melt into the back ground, slipping into a dark corner of the bridge. He heard the clanging of heavy boots on the deck plating and his other two companions tensed also, unconsciously moving closer to stand at his side. Five men marched onto the bridge, four of them holding a weapon like Teal'c's before them. They were all dressed in armor, their foreheads adorned with a tattoo different from Teal'c's. "Why are you trespassing in Lord Osiris' space?" the fifth demanded, stepping forward from his place in the back of the group.

"We didn't mean to. We aah, we have engine trouble. Our hyperdrive's down."

"Identify yourselves," he demanded, barely acknowledging Aiden's explanation.

"I'm Aiden Corso, captain of the Cerebrus. Tanis Renard, my navigator and Lyle Pendar, chief engineer."

"And him?"

Aiden followed the man's gaze, knowing that he was asking about Sam. She was looking down, deliberately trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. "Sam," he said. "Sam Warwick. A passenger we took on," he lied, sensing that she had a very real reason for trying to disguise herself.

The Jaffa snorted, pushing past him and making his way to Sam. Once he got within a few feet, he paused, cocking his head as if he was hearing something. "You have poor taste in passengers," he said, reaching out to pull Sam into the light. He yanked the hat off her head, grabbing her chin to better look at her face. "A Tau'ri," he gloated. "With the stink of the Tok'ra still up on her. We meet again, Samantha Carter."

"Herak," Sam said, pulling her face from his grasp. "Moving up in the world, I see."

"Loyalty to one's god is rewarded," he said. "And my reward for delivering a member of SG-1 to Anubis shall be great."

"What? Like he rewarded you for murdering Khonsu?"

He raised his hand and slapped her, causing her to stumble against the bulkhead. "We shall see how insolent you are after Anubis is through with you."

"How about Osiris? Does she know you're playing both sides?" Sam shot back.

"I serve Anubis, Osiris serves Anubis. She shall be most grateful for delivering the key to her winning her way back into Anubis' good graces. I shall be doubly rewarded." He turned. "Take all of them to the cells," he ordered his men.

"Wait," Pendar said, stepping forward. "We had no idea who she was. You can't blame us for that."

Herak responded by pulling his zat and shooting Pendar. "Yes. I can," he said, stepping over the twitching man and leaving the gathering of the prisoners to his men.

Aiden shot Sam a look, then followed the instructions of the Jaffa, helping Pendar to his feet and following them off the Cerebrus.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Anything?" Jack asked, walking into the control room.

"No, sir," Sergeant Davis answered. "I've tried all the addresses that Mister Quinn gave me. The gate won't establish to any of them."

"Damnit," Jack muttered under his breath. "Thank you, Sargent," he said louder. He stared out the window for a second, his gaze riveted on the alien device below. Now he had an idea how Carter had to have felt when he'd been marooned on Edora. The stargate was the greatest transportation device in the universe…but damned useless if you didn't have a viable destination.

"Colonel?"

"Sir," Jack turned to acknowledge Hammond. "No joy on the addresses Jonas and Warwick came up with."

"That's what I heard," the general replied, joining Jack in front of the large window.

"I was thinking. Maybe we could go back to G'Tau, give the Asgard another ring," Jack suggested after a minute.

"You reported that the Asgard said Thor was unavailable and that they didn't have a ship to spare," George said.

"Yes, sir but….things change. Maybe they forgot to give Thor the message."

"Colonel…"

"General," Jack interrupted. "You know me, I don't do well just hanging around twiddling my thumbs…" He broke off he caught a flash in the corner of his eyes. He looked around. "There's not a tour group around here is there?" Jack asked. Hammond turned and quickly climbed the stairs. "Guess not," Jack said, following him. They arrived in the briefing room at the same time.

"Colonel, is this a friend of yours?" Hammond asked, staring at the diminutive Asgard who was walking around the room, its tiny hands trailing over the various surfaces.

"Yes, sir. Heimdall?"

"Colonel O'Neill," the alien answered, turning to walk towards him. "I regret to inform you that Supreme Commander Thor is still occupied on his mission," it said.

"You came all that way just to tell me that?" Jack asked.

Heimdall thought a second, cocking its head. "No. I have also come to offer my assistance, in lieu of Commander Thor's," he said. "This is a most curious place. Thor has often mentioned it. I find it amazing that a species able to construct such a facility this far under the surface of the planet, yet at the same time construct an orbital monitoring system that is so primitive as to be non-existent. Most intriguing."

"Yeah, well, we got our ups and downs," Jack remarked. "You've got a ship?"

"Indeed. It is in orbit as we speak."

"General?"

"Permission granted, Colonel," Hammond said.

"I need to gather the rest of my team," Jack said. "Can you give me half an hour?"

"Since time does not physically exist, I can not do that. However, I will delay my departure until you are ready to depart with me."

Jack looked at the general who shrugged slightly. "Right," he said after a second. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." Jack hurried out into the hall relieved to finally be able to do something.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam let the Jaffa lead her down the corridor, trying to pay attention to the path they were taking. From the outside, this looked like the hatak ships she was familiar with, but she couldn't be sure. The Jaffa escorting her weren't into conversation much beyond 'You. Come.', so she was left to her own thoughts during the journey.

Aiden had taken her GDO and she didn't think the Jaffa searched the Cerebrus, so they may not know that she even had one on her. Of course, Anubis didn't seem too concerned about breaching the iris; he seemed to prefer bombs from space, so it might not even come up.

The door to the peltac opened and she steeled herself, trying not to react at the sight of the curly haired goa'uld. The woman hadn't changed much from the last time Sam had seen her, when she was hunting for Heimdall's laboratory. "Major Carter," she drawled, slowly turning around. "How nice of you to join us."

"Osiris," Sam acknowledged. The Jaffa faded back, taking up station by the door to the peltac. She stepped forward, looking out the large viewing window. "We're still in orbit around the planet?"

"Yes. And we shall continue to do so until we find the rest of your annoying little team. Unless of course, you save us the time and tell me where they are."

Sam crossed her arms over her chest. "Like you're going to believe anything I say?" Sam bluffed, feeling a tiny surge of hope. She knew if they left the system, there'd be no hope.

"Oh I will…eventually." Two Jaffa stepped forward, taking Sam's arms. "Now, where were we, before we were so rudely interrupted," Osiris drawled, raising her right hand and activating her ribbon device.

Despite herself, Sam felt her heart begin to pound as the beam of light pierced her skull and pain became the sole focus of her life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jacob lounged back on the heavily cushioned divan, accepting a goblet from a slave. 'I could get used to this,' he silently remarked to his symbiote.

'Yes, luxury on the backs of enslavement,' Selmac said, her disdain plain.

'I didn't say that I liked it, just that these old bones of mine happen to get tired of hard crystal furniture all the time,' Jacob replied.

'We tried to transport furniture in the beginning. It was soon discovered that the crystals work better,' Selmac said.

'Yeah. Moving's a bitch,' Jacob agreed, surveying the room. He and four other minor goa'uld had been invited to a meeting on Osiris' ship. The goa'uld had yet to announce her reason for the gathering, but intelligence suggested that she was attempting to increase her own support by turning minor goa'uld, like Jacob's alter ego, away from their system lord and to Anubis.

Which is why Jacob was attending this meeting, not only to gather information for the Tok'ra, but also for Yu, who knew about it and was curious as to what Osiris was offering. He couldn't help but feel some respect for the wily old goa'uld. Yu was never going to win humanitarian of the year, but he also didn't subscribe to the 'dominate by terror' philosophy of the other System Lords. In fact, if more of the System Lords were like Yu, the Tok'ra really wouldn't have much to fight against. The old man seemed to operate on the 'live and let live' philosophy, only fighting when someone encroached on his territory.

'I wonder why Osiris is making us wait?' Jacob asked, tuning out the quiet conversations of the other goa'uld in the room. He identified two of them as serving Morrigan, Ba'al, with the other two being individuals he hadn't met before.

They were all keeping their distance from him, probably because, as far as they knew, he was Hagan, loyal minion to Yu. Which made him a pariah in their midst. Not that Jacob minded. The less conversations he had with them, the less a chance that he'd blow his cover. "Osiris always had a flare for the over dramatic,' Selmac said. 'Something that a few millennia in a stasis jar has not cured him of.'

The door opened and Jacob watched a Jaffa walk into the room. After the fiasco on the space station, Osiris wasn't allowing lotars to accompany her guests, but each was allowed to bring one Jaffa guard to the meeting. In this case, the time they'd spent on the Alpha Site paid off, one of the rebel Jaffa consenting to go on the mission with Jacob and play the part of his loyal bodyguard, Argus.

"My lord," Argus knelt by the divan. "I need to speak with you." He looked over his shoulder at the other four goa'uld, all of which were observing him curiously. "Privately."

Jacob nodded, getting to his feet and leading the man to a corner of the room. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Osiris captured a small ship earlier today. There were four humans on board. One of them wore the uniform of the Tau'ri."

"Someone from the SGC is here?" Jacob asked.

Argus nodded. "Osiris has already tortured her once. She plans to trade the Tau'ri to Anubis, using the human to compensate him for the losses suffered the last time."

'Her?' Jacob asked Selmac. 'You don't think….'

'I do not know, Jacob. Regardless of who it is, we can not allow a Tau'ri to be turned over to Anubis alive.'

"We can't let that happen," Jacob whispered.

"I agree," Argus said. "However, if you vanish at the same time as the prisoners, it will endanger not only your reputation with Osiris, but also with Yu."

"If I disappear, yes," Jacob agreed, as much as it pained him. The life of one Tau'ri was nothing compared to the value of the intelligence he and Selmac had gathered in the last year thanks to his relationship with Yu. "However, betrayal is becoming epidemic among the Jaffa," he said meaningfully. "If you break them out I'll just have to grovel a bit."

Argus shook his head. "The Tau'ri will not trust the word of a Jaffa."

"They will if I tell them," Jacob said. "Tonight, if you can get me into the cells, I'll let them know, then you can break them out during our meeting tomorrow."

Argus nodded, then turned on his heel, quickly leaving the room. Jacob sauntered back over to the divan, slowly sitting down. He made a show of straightening his robes, then signaled for the slave to bring him a fresh goblet. "If we did not lead them, the Jaffa would lack the skills to dress themselves," he said loudly, sighing dramatically. The other goa'uld chuckled their agreement and Jacob took a deep quaff of the wine, not just to keep up the pretense but also to steady his nerves. If things got too much more complicated, he was going to need a scorecard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aiden opened his eyes with a groan, wincing as even the dim light in the cell sent shafts of pain through his head. "What the blazes was that thing?" he moaned.

"It's called a ribbon device," Sam said. "Goa'uld instrument of torture and execution if they're in the right mood."

He looked up. "Pendar?" he asked, seeing only an unconscious Tanis lying in the corner.

"They took him right after they brought you back." She was seated on the floor like he was, her head leaning against the wall. Her eyes were closed and he could see that she was probably in as much pain as he was.

"That woman, she knows you," he said. "Knows your friends too," he prodded, some of the names the woman had asked him about being familiar, others not.

"The host's name is Sarah, the goa'uld is Osiris. They're going to trade us, or really me, to another goa'uld named Anubis," she told him, her voice flat.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What about us? Tanis, Pendar and I," he clarified.

"Slaves maybe. She might kill you if you're too much of an annoyance."

"Nice friends you got here," he said.

She shrugged. "If you'd have left me on the planet, none of this would have happened."

The lock rattled and they both looked up. The door opened and a robed figure slipped inside, his very demeanor suggesting the he wasn't supposed to be visiting. Sam stiffened, awkwardly gaining her feet. She backed away a bit, pressing herself into the wall. Aiden followed suit, figuring at least that if someone needed to sneak into a cell, they were up to no good.

The figure looked around, his gaze seeming to settle on Sam. "Sam?" he said.

"Dad?" She hurried forward, embracing the caped figure. "What are you doing here?"

"That's my line," he said, pushing his cowl back. "All we knew is that a Tau'ri had been captured."

"It's a long story," she said, pulling back. She looked around expectantly.

"It's just Selmac and I," he said. "A case of right place/right time. We've got a plan to break you out of here."

"Aah, excuse me. Dad?" Aiden said, stepping forward. Whatever they had planned, if there was going to be some sort of breakout, he and his crew were not going to be left behind.

"Who's this?" the man asked.

"Escaped prisoners," Sam said. "We tried to help them, before we knew who they were. They decided that I needed to come with them."

"Honest mistake," Aiden said, turning on the charm. "Take us with you and we'll call it even."

"Sam?"

She studied Aiden and sighed. "Osiris will probably kill them."

The older man rolled his eyes, obviously not liking but accepting her decision. "A friend will come, his name's Argus. He'll get you guys off this ship and somewhere safe."

"What about you?"

"I'm on a mission," he said. "I can't risk blowing my cover. Trust Argus, he's a friend of Bra'tac's."

"Ok," she nodded. The man clasped her arm in what Aiden hoped was a reassuring manner and pulled the cowl up over his head, quickly leaving their cell and disappearing into the recesses of the ship.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack paced the confines of the room, fighting the urge to look at his watch for the tenth time in the last hour. This was taking too long. Rationally he knew that as far as they had to travel, it was a miracle that Heimdall's ship could make it in a day. That didn't stop him from getting frustrated at the delay.

It'd been three days since the Cerebrus took off. And in those three days he knew they could have taken Carter pretty much anywhere in the galaxy. What he was hoping for was that his second had been able to disable the Cerebrus somehow, limiting its range and hopefully keeping the ship somewhere close to the planet.

"O'Neill." Teal'c came up behind him

"Teal'c," Jack acknowledged. "Warwick and Jonas finally drive you nuts?" he asked, referring to the near constant conversation the two men had been carrying on since they'd boarded Heimdall's ship. That incessant noise why the main reason Jack was pacing the observation deck instead of their quarters.

"The quantity of conversation is indeed trying," Jonas said. "However I am here to impart some good news. Warwick says his ship is equipped with a locator beacon. It is a security protocol that is not common knowledge and is activated only while the ship is in flight, therefore it is unlikely that the prisoners have disabled it."

"Warwick knows the frequency?"

"Indeed. He has imparted this knowledge to Heimdall. If we are close enough we may be able to track the Cerebrus."

"And if we're not close enough?"

"Heimdall is confident that the other Asgard would be willing to search for the ship."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam slowly opened her eyes, the sound of whispered conversation pulling her from her light doze. "It's very simple, Tanis," Pendar said. "Osiris will get the location of the Tok'ra from her, then let us go. All we do is find these Tok'ra, get them to take us to their home base, and then activate this." He reached into his tunic and pulled out a small round object. Sam recognized it as a 'teleball' as the colonel liked to call them. So, Osiris had gotten to them, or at least one of them.

"Why?" Tanis asked.

"It doesn't matter why. What matters is that this is the one way for us to get out of this with our skins intact," Pendar answered, sticking the globe back into his tunic.

"What about Aiden?"

"Aiden's fascination with the Earth woman is what got us into this mess," he whispered, breaking off when Aiden stirred a bit. "Are you with me?" he asked. She nodded and he moved away from her, returning to the corner of the cell he'd claimed as his own.

Sam continued to feign sleep, her mind working feverishly. She didn't want to leave Pendar and Renard behind, but she couldn't betray the Tok'ra either. She wasn't idealistic enough to think she'd never talk. Eventually she would. Or even if she didn't, all Anubis had to do was stick one of those things in her brain like he'd done to Thor and he'd know everything she knew.

Somehow she had to get word to their rescuers that they were saving a traitor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Argus slipped through the corridors of Osiris' hatak, doing his best to remain unobserved. It was indeed fortunate that Osiris did not have many followers. The barren nature of her barracks giving him less enemies to avoid.

He reached the cell level, ducking into the shadows until the guard left, intent upon getting a middle of the night meal. He hurried to the cell door, quickly unlocking it. Four people were inside, just as he expected.

"I am a friend of Bra'tac's," he said by way of introduction. "Come with me."

The Tau'ri got to her feet, smiling slightly. "Nice to meet you."

"What is this?" the blond man demanded.

"Our way out," the leader said.

"We do not have much time," Argus said, holding the door open.

The Tau'ri stepped forward, shooting the rest a curious look. "Something wrong?" she asked, the tone of her voice making Argus frown. Something was wrong. The Tau'ri was Jacob Carter's daughter, and he knew she trusted the rebel Jaffa. He expected to discover solidarity among the prisoners, not distrust.

The blonde shook his head. "No. I…yes. This man was there when I was tortured, I will not go with him."

"I was not there," Argus protested.

"You're rather reluctant for someone that's getting broke out of jail," the Tau'ri said, stepping towards the blonde man and the other woman.

"Sam? What's going on?" the leader asked.

"They're going to double cross us," she said. "Betray the renegade Jaffa and Tok'ra to Osiris."

The blonde's face changed, his expression going cold and determined. He rushed towards Argus. The Jaffa quickly pulled his zat, shooting the man once. The woman cried out, falling to her knees beside the blonde man. "What the blazes are you doing?" the leader demanded.

The Tau'ri stepped forward, pushing the woman away and reaching into the blonde's tunic. She retrieved a telecommunications device. "He was going to take this back with him and lead Anubis right to the Jaffa and Tok'ra."

"Lyle?" the leader asked. "What have you done?"

"What you wouldn't do," he spat, shaking off the woman's assisting hand and struggling to get to his feet. "Finding a way for us to survive."

"We do not have time for this," Argus said, looking out the doorway. "The guard will return any moment."

"Guard!" Lyle yelled. "Guard!"

The Tau'ri woman reached out and pulled the zat from Argus' hand, quickly firing it. The blonde man fell back, his body jerking slightly. "Lyle!" the woman cried out.

The leader knelt down, his hand going to the blonde's throat. He looked up, his face shocked. "He's dead."

"Two shots kills," the Tau'ri said softly. "It was him or us," she said louder. "We need to go now, unless you want to stay here forever." She held the zat out to Argus who took it.

"Tanis?" the leader said. "Are you coming?"

She paused a second, then nodded, getting to her feet. The leader led her towards the door and Argus fired a third time, disintegrating the body. "Osiris has a sarcophagus," he said.

The Tau'ri nodded, ushering the other two prisoners out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack walked onto the bridge of Heimdall's ship, deliberately not looking at the view screen. Carter and Jonas may find it fascinating, but the ghostly visual distortion of hyperspace always made him a bit queasy. "Heimdall, are we there yet?" he asked as he walked towards the Asgard. This was the time the Asgard had said they'd arrive, but if the cable guy couldn't keep an appointment, it wouldn't surprise Jack if their ETA was off as well.

"Very nearly, Colonel," the small alien said, his fingers flying across the console. "We shall exit hyperspace in precisely sixty seconds."

"Finally," Jack muttered. "Then what?"

"If we are fortunate, the Cerberus will still be within range of my scanners. We shall simply locate its position and liberate Major Carter."

"Yeah," Jack said as Jonas, Teal'c and Warwick walked onto the bridge. "You know, I'm trying to be Mister Positive but I just know it won't be that easy."

The ship dropped out of hyperspace and Jack looked up, watching the blue and white distortions snap into a pristine picture of brilliant stars and planetary bodies…and a ship. Heimdall worked at the console. "I have located the homing beacon of the Cerberus," he said.

"What is that?" Warwick asked.

"I don't see the Cerberus," Jonas said.

"You would not," Heimdall reported. "It is in the cargo bay of that hatak class ship."

"You are indeed correct, O'Neill. It shall not be that easy," Teal'c said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam followed Argus into the hanger bay her senses hyperaware for any pursuit. "Where is everyone?" Sam whispered to the Jaffa.

"Osiris' ranks are not as populated as she would wish. Many of the ship's systems are run on automatic," he told her.

"How are we getting out of the ship?" she asked, following him onto the alkash, Aiden and Tanis following them. The two fugitives took seats in the back of the ship, leaving Sam and Argus to the two front seats.

"I have a compatriot in the control room. The force field will be lowered," he said confidently.

Sam silently rolled her eyes, telling herself that they really had no choice. At the moment, getting splashed against a force shield was much better than getting handed over to Anubis.

The hatch sealed and the Alkash took off, smoothly lifting off the deck. She instinctively gripped the armrests, measuring the distance between them and the force field. They swooped out into space, successfully breaching the protective force field that protected the hanger bay. She felt a tiny bit of relief, which faded when laser fire cut across their bow. Argus immediately reacted, flying the alkash aggressively and taking up an evasive pattern. "I thought you had friends."

"In the control room, yes. Not on the peltac," he shot back, jerking the ship the other way. "We will not escape," he said.

"Go to hyperspace," she said.

"I can not until I am further away from the hatak."

"Argus!" Sam yelled as the ship rocked, a blast striking it in the stern. She looked out the window, seeing three death gliders swooping towards them. The three enemy ships opened fire, hitting the alkash with uncommon accuracy. Behind her, Sam heard Tanis and Aiden yell, the sounds of their voices drowned out by the loud crash and roar of the hall being breached. Helpless to do anything else, she closed her eyes and waited for the end, hoping like hell they 'd blow up the ship so there'd be nothing to stick in a sarcophagus.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We've got to help them," Jack said, stepping forward to get a better look at the display. It neatly showed the beacon for the Cerberus coming from inside the mother ship.

"We cannot," Heimdall said.

"Why?" Jonas asked.

"If they are inside a goa'uld ship, then they are property of the goa'uld. We cannot interfere."

"Look, I can promise you, Carter doesn't want to be there," Jack said.

"You do not know that," Heimdall said. "It is possible that she entered the ship of her own free will."

"That is highly unlikely," Teal'c said.

"Nevertheless, removing an item or person from a goa'uld ship, without permission, is an act of war."

"Oh for crying out loud, you did it last time," Jack said loudly.

"Last time, Major Carter and Osiris were in my laboratory," Heimdall said.

"Colonel, look." Jack followed Jonas' pointing finger. "Someone's leaving the ship."

He tried to make out the details, the image too far away to be more than a small dot. "What is it?"

Heimdall moved a stone and the image jumped, tripling in size. "It appears to be an alkash." A laser beam cut across the picture. "One that apparently was not authorized to leave the mother ship."

"That's them," Jack said.

"They have made no attempt to communicate."

"They are no doubt occupied with escaping," Teal'c said. "And they are likely not aware of our presence."

Jack watched the small ship duck and dodge the weapons fire coming from the hatak. "Help them," he ordered.

"I cannot," Heimdall said. "We are forbidden to interfere unless someone asks for aid."

"They can't ask if they don't know we're here," Jonas said.

They watched in rapt fascination as the ship was struck, the force making it careen drunkenly to one side. "They're going to be destroyed," Warwick said.

Jack reached over Heimdall's head, sliding a stone across the surface. On the view screen the alkash was struck one more time, then exploded in a brilliant white flash. "Colonel O'Neill," Heimdall protested. "You did not have permission to assume control of my ship. If you do so again, I shall have you confined."

"Sam," Jonas cried out. Jack turned, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the four people sprawled on the floor on the other side of the bridge.

"Kree Jaffa!" Teal'c shouted, raising and arming his zat. The two fugitives just sat on the deck, obviously in shock. Hearing the snap/whine of the zat, they both raised their hands, signaling their surrender.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. He's a friend," Sam cried out, snapping out of her shocked state.

"Maybe we should go," Jack suggested, watching the hatak turn around, seeking a better firing position.

The Asgard nodded, moving the stones to move his ship out of range. The ship gracefully turned, slipping into the safety of hyperspace. "That was a skillful maneuver, O'Neill," Heimdall said.

"What?"

"Transporting them off that ship."

"Oh." Jack made a face. "Actually I thought I was taking them in tow," he said ruefully, flushing a bit as the alien blinked his eyes disbelievingly. Deciding to retreat gracefully, Jack turned and made his way to the other side of the bridge. Jonas was helping Carter to her feet while Warwick and Teal'c secured the two escaped prisoners. "Carter? You ok?" he asked, noting her slightly rough appearance. It looked like the last few days definitely hadn't been a pleasurable experience.

"Yeah," she nodded. "This is Argus," she introduced. "He helped us escape."

"Where is Pendar?" Warwick asked.

"Dead," Aiden replied.

"Herak killed him to make a point," Sam explained.

"Herak?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir. Seems he's moving up in the world. He's playing Osiris and Anubis against each other now."

"He will not for much longer," Argus spoke up. "Before I left, I planted evidence implicating him for the escape of the prisoners."

"Nothing like good old Jaffa ambition," Jack quipped.

"Colonel O'Neill. We shall be in orbit of Hebridia in a few moments," Heimdall spoke up. "I presume now that you have recovered Major Carter you wish to return Warwick and his charges to their home world."

"It shall be most welcome to finally be able to return to my home planet," Warwick said. "Major Carter, under our law you are entitled to file a complaint against Aiden Corso and Tanis Renard for kidnapping you," he offered.

Sam shook her head. "That's ok. I think they had enough fun with Osiris," she said. The ship shuddered slightly as they dropped out of hyperspace, presumably in orbit of Hebridia.

Warwick stepped forward, Aiden still in his grasp. "I never thought I'd see this again," he said.

"Know the feeling," Jack commiserated.

"We are being hailed by the planetary defense force," Heimdall said.

Jack moved forward, taking Corso from Warwick. The Ziracken stepped up to the view screen as Heimdall opened communications, letting the ship captain talk to his people. In a matter of minutes they agreed upon a location for Heimdall to beam the three passengers down. "Colonel O'Neill," Warwick said. "Would you like to come down and visit Hebridia? Our planet is most beautiful," he invited.

Jack shook his head. "Thank you but…we need to get back. Maybe once we get Prometheus up and running, we'll stop by."

Warwick nodded. "As you wish. I wanted to thank you."

Jack shrugged. "Hey, we needed Carter, you needed your prisoners back."

Warwick shook his head. "Not for that. For trusting me."

Jack nodded, accepting the man's thanks. "If you're ever in the neighborhood, give us a buzz. We'll….do lunch," he invited.

Warwick frowned, then nodded. "Thank you, Colonel. I will." Heimdall moved the stones again and the three aliens disappeared in a flash of light.

"Major Carter, are you well?" Jack turned to see Teal'c moving to stand close to his second, who was starting to look decidedly shaky.

"Yeah, fine," she said, letting him guide her towards a bench. "Just been a long few days," she excused.

"It'll take us a while to get home," Jonas said. "You should let me look at your head."

"It's ok. It's just sore," she said. "I don't suppose you guys brought anything to eat?"

"I can offer substance," Heimdall piped up. He moved the stones and a small tray of multi colored food cubes appeared. "The red ones are my preference."

Sam smiled slightly, reluctantly picking up one of the squares. She held it in her hand, staring at it like she'd just been gifted with a live snake. Heimdall walked back to the control console, leaving the Tau'ri alone.

Jonas reached out and snagged the food cube. "This is what they eat?" he asked, looking at it. He popped it into his mouth and chewed. "It's aah…it's interesting." He swallowed, clearly hiding his distaste.

Jack pulled a slightly smashed snickers bar from his pocket, tossing it at Sam, who caught it, smiling gratefully. "Ah come on, it can't be that bad," he said, popping one of the cubes into his mouth. He chewed a couple of times then stopped, frantically looking for a convenient trash can. Finding none, he was forced to swallow. "I was wrong," he croaked.

His eyes settled on the half eaten candy bar in Sam's hands. That could get the god-awful taste out of his mouth. As if sensing his gaze, she looked up, her hands wrapping around the remnant of the chocolate bar. "Oh, no, " she said.

"Come on, Carter. Just a bite," he cajoled.

She shook her head. "Colonel, this is the first real food I've had in days," she said.

"We'll be home in a few hours. O'Malley's, my treat," he bargained.

"Are you not still prohibited from frequenting that establishment?" Teal'c reminded.

"I dunno. Are we?"

Sam shrugged. "Only one way to find out," she said, handing over the last third of the candy bar. "Dinner for four, your treat," she bargained.

"Deal," Jack muttered, taking the chocolate and putting it in his mouth with a satisfied sigh.

"Here you go, Sam," Jonas said, pulling a second chocolate bar from his pocket.

She took it with a smile. "Thanks."

"Hey," Jack protested.

"Deal's a deal, colonel," Sam said, totally unapologetic. "Jonas, you haven't ever had lobster have you?"

Fin


End file.
